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SoftBank invests $800 million in India [Tech News] [Times of India]
[October 31, 2014]

SoftBank invests $800 million in India [Tech News] [Times of India]


(Times of India Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) For three days in 2000, Japanese tycoon Masayoshi Son was the wealthiest man in the world. Then the dotcom bust happened and by 2004, the stock price of SoftBank - the internet and telecom group headed by Son - had plummeted 99% from its peak. A decade on, Son shrugs off that episode with a wry smile. "I never stopped believing in the information revolution... the true value of life is not a symbolic number of dollars but the excitement you feel every day," he told TOI in an exclusive interview on Tuesday. Today, Son is the wealthiest man in Japan with a net worth of $20 billion and he's hugely excited about India. On Tuesday, SoftBank Internet and Media, Inc (SIMI), a subsidiary of Softbank, which is led by ex-Googler Nikesh Arora, announced an investment of $627 million in Delhi-based Snapdeal, valuing the four-year-old e-tailer at over $2 billion. This would be one of the largest single-tranche investments by a single entity in an Indian e-commerce company and is bound to further escalate the already fiery three-way war between Amazon, Flipkart and Snapdeal. Snapdeal, founded by schoolmates Kunal Bahl & Rohit Bansal, has raised close to $1 billion this year and will use the funds to make strategic acquisitions in the coming few months, specifically in the area of mobile technology. In a statement, Bahl said, "With the support of Son and Arora, we are confident we will further strengthen our promise to consumers and create life-changing experiences for one million small businesses in India." SoftBank will also be pumping in $180 million out of the $210-million financing round in taxi service startup Ola (formerly Olacabs). Its other investors - Tiger Global, Matrix Partners India and Steadview Capital - have put in the rest. Bhavish Aggarwal, co-founder & CEO, Ola said, "Softbank brings in a lot of relevant experience and knowledge of this domain." On Tuesday, TOI had reported that SoftBank would be investing around $800 million in Snapdeal and Ola. Arora will join the boards of Snapdeal and Ola. SoftBank didn't disclose the size of the stake it would be picking up in the two ventures but sources close to the deals said SoftBank would own about 25-30% in both the companies. It may follow up with many more investments. Son confirmed to TOI that he is prepared to invest up to $10 billion in India over the next ten years, though the exact scale will depend on the opportunities available.



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